Aug. 30, 2022 – When members of the House and Senate return to Washington Sept. 6 following the Labor Day holiday, they face competing priorities and tight timeframes to take action on the federal budget and user fees, which expire on Sept. 30. Failure to pass the fiscal year 2023 (FY 2023) budget and reauthorize […]
Read more
Feb. 7, 2022 – Although the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf to return as FDA Commissioner was advanced by the Senate House, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee just weeks ago and it appeared Califf was poised to be confirmed by the full Senate, new opposition to his nomination reportedly has switched at least some […]
Read more
Dec. 7, 2020 – President-elect Joe Biden announced on Dec. 7 his plans for filling key public health positions, including nominations for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, currently an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, to become director of the […]
Read more Nov. 11, 2019 – As Congress works to agree on legislation that would rein in drug prices, a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) – which would require that list prices be included in direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements – may be close to a vote. Grassley and Durbin hoped […]
Read more July 29, 2019 — Last week’s agreement on parameters for the 2020 fiscal year federal budget is good news for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The greatest advantage of the deal for the White House, the Democratic leadership of the House, and the Republican leadership in the Senate, of course, is that it would […]
Read more Dec. 14, 2017 – At a drug pricing hearing held this week by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, a representative of the National Academies of Sciences told the panel that the cost of drug advertising must be factored into the price of a drug product, and that Congress should act to end […]
Read moreMarch 4, 2016 – Yesterday Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced legislation that would end the tax deduction that drug companies now take for their marketing costs, a move that seemingly puts industry on notice that Franken wants to be a leader on this issue in the Senate, where it last was raised in 2007. “We […]
Read moreOct. 12, 2015 – A bill introduced in the Senate last week by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) would broaden Sunshine Act Open Payments reporting to nurse practitioners and physician assistants, according to a recent article in Policy and Medicine. “Although Senators Grassley and Blumenthal are true believers, it’s probably premature […]
Read more